Helpful Actions: Before, During, and After Your Appointment

Although we believe all needs can be met with online appointments, we are aware of differences between in-person and remote tutoring sessions.  For example, many individuals feel more connected when meeting with a tutor in-person.

It is MEC’s Academic Success Center’s goal to provide effective tutoring services.  To gain the most from your tutoring session, we recommend the following:

Before

  • SHARE LEARNING RESOURCES & DOCUMENTS: Prior to your appointment, email your tutor course resources and documents associated with your learning goals.  Your tutor’s email address is posted in the appointment confirmation message, along with the ZOOM meeting room information.  If you cannot locate the email address, contact Emily Miller at mectutoring@nvcc.edu.
  • WRITE-OUT YOUR GOALS:  It is easy to allow train of thought to take over the agenda in online learning meetings.  Come to your appointment prepared.  Create a list of the topics/questions you want to address: the more specific, the better.

During

  • MANAGE SESSION TIME FOR LEARNING & PRODUCTIVITY: Each tutoring appointment is 50 minutes long.  Keep an eye on the clock.  At 30 minutes, halt your conversation.  Take a quick 5 to 10 minute break from the topic, either by stepping away from the computer or by discussing a fun topic with your tutor. After the breaks, ask your tutor to quiz you on material covered during the session. In order to do well on all tests, practice recall and teaching as much as possible!  Want to learn more about active learning strategies?  Contact Emily Miller at mectutoring@nvcc.edu.

After

  • SUPPORT LONG-TERM LEARNING:Before exiting your appointment with your tutor, list at least 3 different active learning strategies you will apply to your studies.  When we imagine “studying”, often we actually think about passive learning activities. For example, we plan to read a textbook or watch the lecture recording.  Some learners truly do remember information when read, listened to, or watched; however, many are better served by interacting actively with information.  When learners actively interact with course information, we are far more likely to create memories enabling the recall and application of the information.  We are also far more likely to be able to critically think about the information, enabling us to meet the demands of more diverse assessments.   Want to learn more about active learning strategies?  Contact Emily Miller at mectutoring@nvcc.edu.